Calling All Angels
by readbetweenthesigns
Summary: The aftermath of texting and driving... with a little bit of tweaking here and there
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: As always no ownership of anything Glee related or song related in this work of fiction belongs to me. Any mistakes are mine and I own them. The song is by Jane Siberry - check it out on you tube.**

**A/N: Based after 'On My Way', this is what might have happened in an AU sort of way. By the way, Beth was not given up for adoption, Quinn and Puck stayed together at his home with their baby.**

Calling All Angels

The whole school was gathered in the auditorium. Principle Figgins gave a short stilted speech about the dangers of texting and driving.

Mr Schuester took over once he had finished. "As you all know, McKinley lost one its own last week. This is what the Glee Club has to say about it" then he left the stage.

The curtain rose displaying the Glee Club standing, heads down, Puck at the front, the rest of his club mates flanking him in a V formation, all of them dressed in black pants, white shirts with a red rose pinned to their chests, McKinley colours. Behind them a giant screen showed a posed picture of Quinn in her Cheerios uniform. Puck took one step forward as the screen began to display pictures of Quinn, Quinn and him, Quinn and Beth, Quinn and her friends, candid shots that he had taken himself, some from when she was still carrying Beth, his favourite one taken moments after Beth's birth with both of them dressed in blue scrubs looking intently at each other while she held their tiny daughter. Each picture merged into the next. Pictures from when she was little, with her sister, family, everyone had provided pictures of her.

As the slide show began the music started,

(Rachel and Santana - speaking)  
Santa Maria, Santa Teresa, Santa Anna, Santa Susannah  
Santa Cecilia, Santa Copelia, Santa Domenica, Mary Angelica  
Frater Achad, Frater Pietro, Julianus, Petronilla  
Santa, Santos, Miroslaw, Vladimir and all the rest

(Puck – solo)  
A man is placed upon the steps, a baby cries  
High above the church bells start to ring  
And as the heaviness, the heaviness, oh it settles in  
Somewhere you can hear a mother sing

Then it's one foot then the other as you step out on the road, yeah  
Step out on that road,  
How much weight, how much?  
Then it's how long and how far and how many times  
Oh, before it's too late?

(all)  
Calling all Angels, calling all Angels

(Puck - solo)  
Walk me through this one, don't leave me alone

(all)  
Calling all Angels, calling all Angels  
We're trying, we're hoping, but we're not sure how this goes

(Puck solo)  
Oh, and every day you gaze upon the sunset  
With such love and intensity  
Why, it's ah, it's almost as if you could only crack the code  
You'd finally understand what this all means

Oh, but if you could, do you think you would  
Trade it all, all the pain and suffering?  
Oh, but then you'd miss the beauty of  
The light upon this earth and the sweetness of the leaving

(all)  
Calling all Angels, calling all Angels

(Puck - solo)  
Walk me through this one, don't leave me alone

(all)  
Calling all Angels, calling all Angels  
We're trying, we're hoping, but we're not sure how

Calling all Angels, calling all Angels  
(Calling all Angels, calling all Angels)  
Walk me through this one,  
(walk me through this one)  
Don't leave me alone

Calling all Angels, calling all Angels  
We're trying, we're hoping, we're loving and we're hurting  
We're crying, we're calling

(Puck – solo, a capella)  
'Cause we're not sure how this goes

When the song ended, he unashamedly wiped the tears away from his face, his head down. Puck turned as Mr Schuester carried his daughter on to the stage. Beth had her hands clasped together looking out at the sea of faces shyly. As they neared Puck, Beth leant forward and squealed "Daddy". Puck reached for her and brought her close to his body, hugging her and burying his nose in her neck. Beth saw a picture of Quinn on the huge screen at the back of the stage, she pointed and shouted "Mommy", clapping her hands. Puck couldn't contain his sobs any longer. He didn't care if the hockey jocks thought he was a loser, he didn't care if they made fun of him for the rest of his high school life. He had lost one of the most important things in his life ever, his soul mate, his Quinn, nothing would ever be the same again. The only thing he had to live for was this beautiful miniature Quinn in his arms. "Yes baby, that's mommy" he said through his tears, smiling at the baby. "And she loves you very, very much, she always will"

The people sitting nearest the stage who had been able to hear the exchange between father and daughter were in tears. No one thought that Puck was weak or a loser, not even Rick the Stick. He was the first to stand and begin clapping, the whole of the student body rose slowly and joined the ovation to this young man's open display of his pain and his love for his two girls, the love that would never die.

**Thoughts?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I was unsure about adding a second chapter to this story, I didn't know if it needed it. Tell me if I've made a mistake here. Thanks.**

In the days and weeks that followed the accident Puck found that forcing himself to get out of bed each morning did not get any easier. The only thing that made him put his feet to the floor and check out of the window to see if the world was still revolving was his daughter. To make himself see to her needs was the only reason for keeping going. He made sure that she was fed, clean and was loved. He read to her, he sang to her and played with her just as Quinn had always done. He went to school and he went to work. He tried to keep his tears to himself, for when Beth was asleep and he was in bed alone. He buried his face in Quinn's pillow and he swore he could still smell her very faintly if he concentrated hard enough.

The whole of the Glee Club were getting worried about him. They could see that he was losing weight, his face was becoming drawn. He rarely smiled at anyone except Beth and occasionally his sister. Finn and Rachel along with the rest of the group decided it was time for an intervention. They consulted with Mrs Puckerman and Sarah. It was decided that Mrs Puckerman would bring Beth to their Glee meeting set for after school on Friday. Mr Schuester and Miss Pilsbury were in total agreement with it.

Puck was the last one to enter the choir room on Friday. He walked in with his head down, as he usually did these days. He jumped a little as he heard his daughter's laughter when she spotted him walking in. Puck looked round in shock, his hand on his chest. "Hey baby" he said softly, bending down to pick her up as Beth toddled towards him.

"Up daddy, up." she giggled at him, smiling and showing her teeth. He kissed her soft wispy hair and picked her up, straightening with her in his arms.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Beth, looking towards his mother too.

"Noah," his mom began softly, "everyone is really worried about you, we don't think you're coping very well." She stopped suddenly when her voice started to break. "None of us are really, but you're losing weight, you're not sleeping, you're just going through the motions, the only thing you are doing is looking after Beth. Your classes are suffering more now than they ever have, you're in danger of not graduating. We all want to help. All of us."

"Even me." A new voice came from the doorway. Judy Fabray stood, tears in her eyes, twisting her hands together. Puck turned at the sound. "Oh" she breathed, her hands flying to cover her mouth at the first sight of her granddaughter. The tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. "She looks so much like Quinn." Judy choked out, barely able to speak.

Puck walked towards Judy slowly, Beth in his arms, her head under his chin, her thumb in her mouth, looking up through her lashes at the stranger in front of her, in a manner so like her mother. "Beth, baby," Puck said gently, lifting her slightly away from him and looking her in the eye, "This is your Grandma Judy. Wanna let her give you a hug?" he asked. Beth shook her head shyly.

"We'll work up to that" Judy said on a sob. "Can I shake your hand Beth?" she asked the little girl, needing to make some sort of physical contact with her daughter's child, a piece of her daughter still here on earth. Beth stuck one hand out, still keeping her thumb in her mouth and eying up the stranger. Judy grasped the pudgy little hand making a noise that was at once a sob and a laugh.

"Judy, thank you for coming too" Mrs Puckerman said. "I know you want what's best for Beth. The best thing at the moment is for her to be with Noah, she needs to have consistency in her life, we don't want to change anything but we need for Noah to have more support, to accept more support, from us, from his friends and from you if you're willing to give it."

"I am, more than willing. I just wish it hadn't taken this tragedy for me to wake up to the important things, not the appearance of things in life. I will never forgive myself for not being there for my daughter when she needed me, for denying her the love and comfort she needed and deserved. I want to thank you for giving her that, both of you. All of you really, but especially you Noah. I know that you loved her more than anything and she loved you too. You were both so young you could have chosen a different path, an easier path but you didn't. I'm so proud of both of you. This little angel is all we have left of her, we need to cherish her and help her grow in a safe, loving happy extended family" Judy looked round at the gathering of people she barely knew. Some were openly weeping, some were keeping it together, just.

"So, I know I need help" Puck said softly, sitting on one of the tall stools in front of the piano, Beth on his knee. "I know I can't do it all alone, I need to work too, Burt's been really good with time off and stuff" Puck nodded towards Kurt, acknowledging Kurt's role as his boss' son. "I'm not going to turn into my father, I refuse to drop out of school, I need to graduate, for Beth, for Quinn" his voice broke and he looked away blinking. He recovered slightly before going on, "it's going to be hard, but will you help me?" he asked, looking round at everyone in the room.

Rachel was the first to reach him and hug him. "Of course we will Noah, all of us, won't we?" she looked back at the assembled Glee Club, everyone agreed and gathered round for a group hug.

"I promise to start being more careful about eating and trying to sleep better too, I know I won't be able to look after Beth if I get sick" Puck said quietly, looking at his mother.

"That's all I can ask, that you try. I know it's going to be hard, but I'm here, we all are, every step of the way, we're behind you. We love you Noah, don't ever forget that." Mrs Puckerman broke off with a sob, hugging her son, feeling that he might have turned a corner, he might have found the will to go on, to be the father to his daughter that he never had for himself.

Beth stood on Puck's knee and hugged her daddy tightly round his neck. "Sing, daddy, sing" she squealed.

"Sing? You want daddy to sing?" he kissed her cheek. "What do you want daddy to sing to you baby?" Puck asked, knowing the answer, the same song she asked him to sing every night before she went to sleep.

"Sing me, daddy, sing me" she smiled and blinked her huge eyes at him, so reminiscent of Quinn, an action that made sure he was totally wrapped around her little finger, his heart melted at the sight and he smiled back then hugged her tightly.

"OK, are you ready?" He asked, Beth laid down on his knee and nodded sucking her thumb, looking up at her daddy as he smiled lovingly down at her, cradling her in one arm and stroking her hair with his other hand as he would to lull her to sleep at night, "Beth I hear you calling, but I can't come home right now….."


End file.
